The government has reduced the quota for female teachers in non-government schools. It is mandatory to appoint 40 per cent female teachers in city or pourashova and 30 per cent in village schools. For non-compliance, non-government institutions would lose official recognition and cease to receive the money the government pays as teachers’ pay. Out of [...]

Salma Rafique, noted sports organiser and former member of Bangladesh Women Sports Federation (BWSF), and executive editor of monthly Krira Jagat, died of cancer in the city Saturday morning, reports BSS. She was 57, a BWSF press release said. Salma Rafique left behind her only daughter and a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn [...]

Speakers at a conference yesterday said women’s participation in politics is hindered severely due to violence, which should be checked immediately to ensure women’s political empowerment. The women’s political empowerment is hindered due to state, social and community terrorism, demonstration of muscle power, religious propaganda against women’s leadership and patriarchal social structure, they added. They [...]

Farmers in Khulna and Bagerhat districts are now firm to resist saline water-based shrimp cultivation while women workers in shrimp processing plants in the districts have vowed to stop exploitation by the owners by depriving them of due wages and facility. Several thousands farmers of Khulna and Bagerhat districts recently staged protests against saline water [...]

The majority of violence against women take place at their own residences, but in most of the cases these incidents go unreported and women suffer silently while the abusers escape unpunished, speakers at a workshop said yesterday. Prip Trust organised the workshop titled ‘International workshop on situation of violence against women in Bangladesh’ at IDB [...]

The underprivileged children and women of tribal communities have started to reap the benefits of Para Kendra (centre) in the remote hilly areas of Rangamati, Khagrachhari and Bandarban. Para Kendra is the local pre-school education and healthcare centres set up under the Integrated Community Development Project (ICDP) in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Set up under [...]

President Zillur Rahman yesterday stressed the need for establishing women’s chamber of commerce and industry in every district to involve women entrepreneurs in the mainstream development process. Rahman made the observation when an 11-member delegation of Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) led by its president Selima Ahmed called on him at Bangabhaban. [...]

It’s a seasonal phenomenon, and all of us are falling prey to its wrath everyday. You guessed it; it’s the summer! As the Baishakh month rolls in with festivities, it also brings in the sweltering heat. Now all of us should be prepared if we want to stay well and healthy. First of all, girls, [...]

BRAC Bank Limited and Persona Institute of Beauty and Lifestyle jointly organised a workshop on ‘Beauty Solutions and Marketing Skills Development for Beauty Parlours’ in the city recently, said a press release. BRAC Bank Deputy Managing Director Syed Mahbubur Rahman inaugurated the workshop as the chief guest. Also present in the inaugural ceremony of the [...]

The central bank from now will do CAMEL rating of banks on their lending to women entrepreneurs to allow them to open branches, its chief said. The Bangladesh Bank will also watch the banks to see if their operations conform to the rules, governor Atiur Rahman said at a pre-budge discussion hosted by Bangladesh Women [...]

Women working in different sectors in Dhaka City and other parts of the country are routinely subjected to inhumane forms of exploitation, including physical and mental abuse. Women working at different emerging sectors including apparel have expressed their anger over the sexual harassment they often face in their working zones. Talking to this correspondent, a [...]

Notwithstanding a change in social attitudes towards women’s employment, and involvement in the community and public life during the last decade, social curses like dowry, rape and violence have not declined. In the marriage market, monetary and asset transaction still exist at all levels, indicating the commodity status of a girl, which costs very little [...]

The health indicators show that women are in disadvantageous position compared to men in terms of health and nutrition. While facilities are limited for everyone in general, women’s access to such facilities is even more limited. Women’s role as wife and mother is glorified, and girls are married off at an early age, especially in [...]

Bangladesh has made remarkable progress in terms of improving its literacy and is one of the very few countries which are on track for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. However, women are still discriminated against in the intra-household allocation of resources, in terms of education. Till today, parents prefer spending more for the education of [...]

The traditional norm of women staying inside the house and men providing them protection has been changing as a result of economic and demographic developments. Recent trends show that women are increasingly taking up new challenges in the market economy. Female labour force participation has increased significantly since the late eighties, both in the traditional [...]